Public Invited to Join Astronomers in Indianapolis June 3-4

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is inviting the public to view Saturn through a telescope and to hear a special presentation on "citizen science" during its early-June meeting at the Indiana Convention Center (100 S. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46225), which will attract more than 500 space scientists and science educators.

Members of the AAS and Indianapolis's premier amateur-astronomy club, the Indiana Astronomical Society, will set up telescopes at Convention Center Plaza (corner of South Capitol Ave. and West Maryland St.) on Monday evening, 3 June (cloud/rain date: Tuesday, 4 June) from 9 to 11 p.m. EDT. The prime target will be the planet Saturn, with its glorious rings and bright moon Titan. Suitable for adults and kids of all ages, the event offers a unique opportunity to explore the universe with professional astronomers and to meet the leading amateur astronomers of the Indianapolis area. Star-party updates, including weather and logistics, will be posted on the AAS Facebook page:

Oxford University astronomer and "BBC Sky at Night" co-presenter Chris Lintott will give a free public talk, "Discovering Planets From Your Sofa: Adventures in Citizen Science," on Tuesday evening, 4 June, from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT in Wabash Ballroom 1 of the Indiana Convention Center. Overwhelmed by the flood of information we can now obtain about the cosmos, astronomers are turning to the public for help. Hundreds of thousands of "citizen scientists" have classified galaxies, surveyed the Milky Way, discovered clusters of stars in the Andromeda Galaxy, and even been the first to find planets around other stars. Lintott, citizen-science project leader at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and a researcher at the University of Oxford, will share these success stories and look ahead to a time when humans will collaborate with astronomically minded robots.

Both the star party and Chris Lintott's presentation are FREE and open to the public.

The AAS, established in 1899 and based in Washington, DC, is the major organization of professional astronomers and planetary scientists in North America. Its membership of about 7,000 also includes physicists, mathematicians, geologists, engineers, and others whose research interests lie within the broad spectrum of subjects now comprising contemporary astronomy. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe.